IndyBlog

D-11 approves Lincoln sale ... again

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education approved the sale of Lincoln Elementary last week on a 6-1 vote. It was the second time the board had approved a sale of the school, which was shuttered after a round of budget-based closures in spring 2013.

“This is the only [offer] that we have on the table right now," D-11 Chief Financial Officer Glenn Gustafson says, "so that’s the one we took to the board. So that’s like our third deal on Lincoln.”

The school, located at 2727 N. Cascade Ave., was originally promised to local developer Bob Elliott for a mixed-use project. Elliott planned to pay $1.2 million, but dropped out of the deal. Gustafson notes that Penrose-St. Francis Hospital & Health Services had also expressed early interest in the school property, which it considered turning into a parking lot. it deemed the idea cost-prohibitive.

This time around, Lincoln is being promised to Atlas Preparatory School, a charter school in Harrison District 2. Atlas hopes to convert the school into small apartments for its employees, as an added benefit and recruiting tool. Classrooms would become small apartments and the building might also feature amenities like a gym and restaurant/bar. Lincoln has 18 classrooms.

Atlas is prepared to pay $1.27 million for the school, though the deal won't be final for about nine months, Gustafson says. Gustafson says D-11 also has heard from many potential buyers of the shuttered Bates Elementary School, located at 702 Cragmor Road. Interest is so high that the district plans a Request for Offer to fully evaluate its options for selling the school.